367 – Lilixira
Saint Lilixira nimbly hops between branches as she strolls towards me. As expected of one with a status far above ordinary people, her jumps are made with light movements, heedless of danger.
I reflexively lower my back and take on a cautious stance.
“Guau…”
My partner growls in warning. Matching her, Aro and the nightmare step forwards. Treant-san tensely stands up straight behind me, trying to blend into the scenery… Isn’t that wrong way round though?
The armoured woman who seems to be Lilixira’s attendant, Alphiss, hurriedly rushes in front of her to cut her off.
“Saint-sama! Please refrain from approaching unprepared!”
“It’s okay, Alphiss, please don’t be so tense. Conflict seems unlikely.”
Lilixira pouts as she objects to Alphiss’s obstruction. She sticks her head out and opens her eyes wide to look me in my eyes. I feel like I see a a red gleam hidden in her green pupils.
“It seems the chance that this becomes a battle is less than 1%.”
“But even so… In extreme cases, the power of prophecy can be wrong, right?”
…Prophecy? I don’t think she had a skill like that when I looked earlier… No wait, she said something about a percentage. Ages ago, when I fought the little rock dragon near the village, God’s Voice said this and that about probabilities.
Even though I haven’t trusted God’s Voice much ever since I evolved into a plague dragon, if I hadn’t had God’s Voice’s advice back then, who knows how bad Miria’s village would have turned out. However I also suspect that God’s Voice is the one who instigated the slime to go after the village in the first place. As a result, I haven’t tried holding a conversation with God’s Voice ever since then, and also haven’t asked anything to do with probabilities. In his last moments, the Hero also seemed to be acting rashly as a result of God’s Voice’s whispering.
At the moment it seems Lilixira is trusting God’s Voice and so holds little sense of danger towards me…
“And besides, it would be rude to be so wary after coming all the way here, Alphiss. We’re in the position of making a plea despite knowing well the barriers, so we must allow for some risk or it would all be meaningless. It would be inconvenient if your careless words made a mess of things. My life is cheap compared to the fate world, is that not so?”
“…But it does not look to me like meekly sitting at a negotiation table is its nature.”
Alphiss responds to Lilixira’s words, then expressionlessly bows to her and turns to face me. The hostility of her gaze still remains. Aro glares back at her.
“…Hm, an undead, how repulsive.”
“Alphiss!”
Lilixira rebukes her again.
…The Saint, huh. Her behaviour and speech indeed make it seem she lacks any hostility. However, her title skills worry me. But then I’m not one to talk about title skills… She might have some strange circumstances or reasons.
Alongside Alphiss, Lilixira crosses over to the same branch that I’m on and moves right in front of me. Aro and the nightmare’s tension heightens.
“…The Oracle’s level is quite low I see. Where should I start from then, I wonder?”
The Oracle…is probably [God’s Voice]. Lilixira’s [God’s Voice] is max level. In contrast, mine is only level 5.
“It might not be necessary, but I’ll start with my self-introduction. I am Lilixira. The title of 『Saint』 came in being as the symbol of the Holy Country, and eventually the position shifted into one who guides the world towards peace. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. This is Alphiss, a swordswoman of the Holy Knights who form the greatest war potential of the Holy Country of Liarm.”
Lilixira says, bowing her head as she speaks. Drawn in, I bow too.
P-pleased to meet you. However I have no title worthy of saying, nor do I have such a great social standing…
I think strongly in reply. Lilixira raises a hand to her mouth and giggles.
“I am relieved that you are how I imagined. I wouldn’t know what to do if we came all the way out here only for it to become a fight…”
My partner glares at her suspiciously. Lilixira glances back at her, but soon looks back at me.
“I have also met with that Hero. In order to find out what occurred in Harenae, I travelled to the scene and spoke with those who were present. As a result, I came to hope that you might be one who would support humanity. That is the reason I have come to this island.”
By Hero… She must be referring to the blond bastard in Harenae. It sounds her evaluation of him was also as low as could go. I guess that would be the case. Having set her eyes on me as a result, she’s come to ask me for aid… Is what this is about. It might be true that she didn’t come here with hostility then.
“I would like to ask Irushia-sama to subjugate the Demon Lord of the present era, who has taken the place of the princess of the Kingdom of Ardesia and is haunting the royal family.”
Th-the Demon Lord is haunting the Ardesian royal family…?
I suspected she was going to ask me to help with something to do with the war between humans and monsters. However I’m shocked to hear that the Demon Lord is taking over the Kingdom of Ardesia. Nina and the ball rabbit should be in that country. Are all of top of that country turning into monsters…?
“Guu…”
I groan unconsciously. Lilixira continues to stare at me.
“It seems you have an important person in Ardesia.”
I-it was read!? I suppose that was inevitable. The [Telepathy] skill reads and transmits thoughts. Even if I don’t intend to say it, anything I think about too hard, she can pick up on. In addition, her [Telepathy] is quite high at level 9.
If I get emotional about anything, it shows on my surface thoughts. While I’m in front of someone with [Telepathy], I need to avoid careless thoughts.
“Recently, the members of the Ardesian royal family have died from disease one after the other. As a result, the right to the throne passed down to a young princess. However, that princess seems to be making strange movements. It appears that she is inviting talented swordsmen and mages to the castle frequently… But the majority go missing.”
Could it be… They’re being turned into experience?
“I have been watching the situation closely. I suspect that the royal family was killed by a curse, and that the princess was replaced amid the turmoil. However I have no definitive proof. Moreover, if I act rashly, it could lead to a war that diminishes humanity’s strength. War would break out between the Holy Country of Liarm and the Kingdom of Ardesia. I ask that you confirm whether or not the Demon Lord has replaced the princess, and if so, assassinate the Demon Lord.”
I’m hesitant at whether or not to believe her. Certainly, if a representative of a country such as Lilixira butts her head into the royal family of another country, it could cause problems. I can see why it would be best to leave it to an outside monster such as me. I’m worried that it might be all be a ruse, but if she wanted to trick me there would be little reason for her to take such a roundabout way. Even she came at me here, I’d probably lose. If she wanted to kill me, that way would be much easier and more certain.
“Can I be trusted? That is a problem that will hopefully be solved as we talk more. It seems that there is much that you do not know much about your own standing and about Holy God-sama, however… If you wish, I could explain for you. I shall also reveal my hand. There’s no meaning in hiding it from you. It would be bad if it caused a misunderstanding, after all.”
Your hand…? Ah, your skills? I was curious about that [Spirit] skill. If you can freely manipulate monsters, then surely there’s no need to rely on me? Looking at your title skills, it looks like you also have another monster with you already…?
“Futhermore… I have rewards prepared for you, of course. There is still little that I know about you, however… From what I’ve learned from [Telepathy], your personality seems to be close to what I predicted, so I wonder if you might be pleased with the rewards.”
A-a reward…?
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